DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 17 September) – The state-run University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) will open its College of Law in August next year to cater to the students “who have talents and the skills but do not have means to pursue law.”
Lawyer Rogelio Largo, member of the USEP board of regents and president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Davao, said in an interview on Monday that the board has already approved the offering of the new program.
He said representatives from the Legal Education Board will inspect next month the facilities and other preparations for the opening of the law school.
The law school program will occupy one floor of the new five-story building at USEP main campus in Bo. Obrero, Davao City that is targeted for completion this year, he said.
“The government now is providing accessible education. In fact, the college is already free. While law school is not necessarily considered a college but we can assure the public that in terms of fees it will be much lower than counterparts from the private sector,” he said.
Largo said the university would like to establish a niche that would specifically target those “who are working students, who are less endowed in terms of their financial capacity.”
He said they would like to hone lawyers who have the heart to serve those who are prepared to take on “public interest cases and address the needs marginalized sectors of the society.”
“We would like to cater to as many students as possible. Depending on the first year of operation, if so many students will enroll, then we will admit them, provided that they comply with requirements of the school,” he said.
The university has four campuses – the Bo. Obrero (main) and Mintal campuses in Davao City, Tagum-Mabini campus with two units located in Tagum City in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, and Bislig campus in Surigao del Sur.
The existing academic program offerings include engineering, education, arts and sciences, economics, business, computing, governance, development, resource management, technology, agriculture and forestry.
USEP was created in 1978 through Batas Pambansa Bilang 12 after the merger of four state institutions namely the Mindanao State University-Davao, the University of the Philippines-Master of Management Program in Davao, the Davao School of Arts and Trades and the Davao National Regional Agricultural School. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
